When it comes to online gambling, there is no shortage of options for Indian players. The online gambling industry in India is growing at an alarming rate, regardless of many regulations that prohibit major gambling activities in the country. It is a revolutionary period for the internet gambling industry in India. More and more people in the country are playing at an online casino in India to earn a handsome sum of money. At this growing pace, India is soon going to surpass the number of gamblers in the UK per capita.
The Indian government seems to have realized that it is missing out on potential revenue overflow as the old rules blocked physical gambling. To look at the revenue options from online gambling, the government has recently come up with a panel. The panel will consider the various angles from which they can approach online gambling legalization.
So, India is taking steps to legalize online gambling. The Indian panel has seven members that includes state ministers. These members have the responsibility to create a government body for guiding the online gambling industry. The team also has to develop regulatory measures to create a transparent and trustworthy industry that the players can rely on. Any regulation they form should protect all players.
The panel of seven members will examine the legislative and legal frameworks that are being used by regulators across the world. With this, they aim to overcome the anti-gambling sentiments in some areas of the country.
The government of India believes that legalized gambling in the country can help in reducing the presence of the black market and unregulated gambling. Raids have revealed that many illegal gambling activities exist and operate in various parts of the country. This is the scenario even though the officials have performed several operations for stopping illegal sports betting activities in the country.
The Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports has welcomed the news. They believe that this big step displays that the government acknowledges the role of India in the online gambling industry.
Before this, there was no federal law governing the gambling industry in India except for the precedent of the Supreme Court on skill-based gaming. It gave every state the right to handle the state’s gambling matters. In March 2022, the All India Game Federation campaigned for all states of the country to take on a proactive approach to develop a robust online gambling strong policy framework.
But that was a month after the government of Karnataka made a futile attempt to ban all gambling activities in September 2021. Even though lawmakers implemented it, the Karnataka High Court overturned this measure.
Last year, Kerala too, tried to control online gambling. It made an attempt to block online rummy, labeling it as a game of chance. But the ban had been reversed by Kerala High Court by ruling that the game is skill-based.
Authorities have started looking at the possibility of developing regulations for internet gambling in April since more states have realized the revenue potential it has. Thus, the government now looks to create a new government body to regulate and guide the online gambling sector.
The Online Gambling Commission is a central regulator for online gambling. This regulatory body has the power to handle and monitor the online gambling operators’ activities and penalize those who don’t comply with it. This body will have the power to suspend, issue, and revoke online gambling licenses. Additionally, the committee will be able to create licensing rules and decide who gets to gamble.
But there are still some people who want to block and ban online gambling. Many have criticized the ruling party for proceeding with the legislation but it appears like things are already in motion.
Ernst & Young along with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry published a report on online gambling in India a few months back. It showed that there has been a 17% increase in customers in the online gambling industry. The figure climbed from 80 million to 95 million from 2020 to 2021. During this period, the number of online gamers also increased by 8%. So, a government body to regulate online gambling can come as a blessing for the operators, as well as the players.